The Purest of Pain
By Anna Dennis
ApexPublishing.com

Dennis gives us characters we love, and some we love to hate. The Purest of Pain is the story of Devin and Taylor Harris, a financially successful couple who find the need to rekindle the passion and restore the trust in their marriage. Devin works with his friend and partner in dot.com business they started, while Taylor is Vice-President of Human Resources for a large corporation.

After the events of 9/11, Devin feels a stronger commitment to his family, but soon he’s faced with the knowledge that his friend is dying. Add to that the problems Taylor faces as she realizes she’s addicted to prescription drugs.

Read our interview with Ms. Anna Dennis below:

DT:  I loved the title, how did you come up with the purest of pain? How long did it take from first draft to finished product?
AD: Thank you. I came up with the title because I wanted a title that would capture the very essence of a woman's pain. I think as women we all know that is infidelity and betrayal as well as the inability to ever be able to trust again. However, during the time that I was completing this novel 9/11 occurred and it made the title even more befitting and allowed me to implement some of the pain the country experienced as a whole. From draft to finished product, The Purest of Pain took me about 10 months. Fortunately, the story was for the most part laid out in my mind.

DT: You tackle some serious issues in this novel of infidelity, addiction, and secrecy. Did you base your characters on any real life experiences?
AD: To some extent. I mean the issues are those that our community, our people, everyone deals with every day. It's sad to know that these issues are so prevalent, but these are the times in which we live.

The Purest of Pain by Anna Dennis

DT:  Devin's account of the tragedy of 9/11 was very vivid. Did you have firsthand knowledge of the events? Did you do extensive research? Or was that just a bit of your creative juices at work?
AD: :  I don't know of anyone who experienced a loss personally from the tragedy, but I have friends who live in New York and were able draw a very vivid picture of the climate there during this time. But, I, like so many others who sat rooted to the television was really affected by the footage I saw. Additionally, I did do extensive research from news footage, newspaper footage and archives.

DT:  Do you have any other works on the market? Any upcoming books?
AD: Yes, Who Will Hear My Screams was my first novel released in 2001. With that title I sold more than 5000 copies without a distributor. I'm currently working on the sequel to that novel (title unknown) and another novel entitled What A Tangled Webb We Weave.

DT:  What are some of the things you've done to promote yourself and your books? Any conferences? Book signings? Panel discussions? Book Fairs?
AD: Wow! Everything I can think of. In addition to setting up my own East Coast/West Coast tour, I've attended the BEA, The Black Expo, numerous booksignings at independent bookstores. There are a lot of venues out there to promote yourself, but it gets to a point that you must pick and choose and make sure it's worth your while.

DT: What has been your greatest literary accomplishment?
AD: Completing two novels and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel for my third. I find the process has become a lot easier. But, selling 5000 copies is no small feat. The process of writing, marketing and selling your novels is a lot of work and you must really be passionate about the craft. Your passion and a good advocate is what will get you through the publisher's rejection letters.

DT: Thank so much for granting us this interview, we wish you all the best!

Anna Dennis has been writing for seven years. She has written several children’s short stories and has had commentary published in Essence Magazine. Familiar with the literary industry, she was a presenter at the1997 Sister Circle Book Club Awards in San Francisco and formerly co-owned Black Spring Books in Vallejo, California.

During her literary rise Mrs. Dennis co-founded The Bay Area Book Writer’s Guild, was co-host of the DR BookChat Radio Show, contributing writer/reviewer forThe LineUp, a major online magazine with a distribution base exceeding 15,000, and has served on panels with literary greats, J. California Cooper, BeBe Moore Campbell, Eric Jerome Dickey and Kimberla Lawson Roby. She lives in California with her husband and daughter and is currently at work on her third novel.